1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates in general to the mounting of wall panels and in particular to the mounting of wall panels on a corner defined by a pair of perpendicular faces, such as on the corner of a column.
2. Description of Prior Art:
The prior art method of mounting wall panels to concrete walls is illustrated in FIG. 1 in U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,166 (McNerney). The wall panels are not secured directly to the concrete walls, but rather, hat channels are first nailed into the concrete wall. The hat channels are generally C-shaped, with flanges on either end. Nails are driven through the flanges into the concrete wall. The wall panels are then fastened to the hat channels, leaving a space between the wall panels and the concrete walls.
It is preferable to use a corner strip to support the wall panels at the corner. Such support makes it easier to properly position metal corner strips, and also adds strength to the corner of the wall panels.
The corner strip disclosed in FIGS. 2-5 in the McNerny patent has a pair of wall support sections, joined along one edge and generally perpendicular to one another. The corner strip also has a pair of flanges, each of which is nailed to a respective concrete wall. The spacer sections between the wall support sections and the flanges are angled at a 45 degree angle from the planes of the wall panels and the concrete walls. While this system is feasible, a corner strip requiring fewer nails and less labor to install would be desirable.